Honolulu, HI – Governor of the State of Hawaii Linda Lingle today signed a bill into law that authorizes the issuance of $35,000,000 in special purpose revenue bonds to assist Sopogy, Inc. in the development of renewable energy on the Island of Oahu.

“Due to low energy cost and the high cost of construction, renewable energy has struggled to get traction on the island of O’ahu,” Said Darren T. Kimura President and CEO of Sopogy, Inc. “These special purpose revenue bonds are a critical enabler in bringing clean solar power energy to the residents.”

About Sopogy
Sopogy specializes in MicroCSP solar technologies that bring the economics of large solar energy systems to the industrial, commercial and utility sectors in a smaller, robust and more cost effective package. Please visit www.sopogy.org for more information.

The small-scale solar thermal startup Sopogy that we reported was in the process of raising a $9 million round last October, has closed that round from investors including the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Ohana Holdings. The folks at New Energy Finance reported the news, and after digging through regulatory filings, Nathaniel Bullard, senior analyst at New Energy Finance reported that the $9.1 million round also included local investors Bethel Tech Holdings, Energy Industries Holdings, Kolohala Holdings, Black River Asset Management a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill and Tetris video game entrepreneur Henk Rogers.

Sopogy has strong roots in the state. Most of its investors are local, and in May Sopogy said the state legislature had approved up to $35 million in special purpose revenue bonds for Sopogy to build and operate a solar plant locally. As of October Sopogy CEO Darren Kimura told us the company is working on getting a 1-megawatt solar system up and running. Kimura also said that Hawaii’s “highest electricity rates in the U.S.” give its technologies “a competitive marketplace to develop and mature.”

The Honolulu-based five-year-old company Sopogy makes small scale solar thermal systems, which are condensed versions of the set-ups that use mirrors and lenses to heat liquid and turn that into power. Ausra, BrightSource, Solel and eSolar are just a few of the startups that have emerged to building large-scale systems on a lot of land and plan that power to utilities.

Sopogy, on the other hand, says its technology can be used where space is limited, even on rooftops, and delivers on a scale in the single megawatts. Each individual collector can produce 500 watts, and the collectors can be strung together for more wattage.

Kimura told VentureBeat last week that Sopogy has gotten enough interest that the company is eying an IPO in the not-too-distant future.

Renewable energy could get boost

The Legislature has approved up to $35 million in special purpose revenue bonds for local renewable energy technology firm Sopogy Inc.

The measure goes to the governor for final approval.

If approved, the bonds are expected to be used by Sopogy to develop a 10-megawatt solar farm plant on O’ahu. Honolulu-based Sopogy, which is headed by Darren Kimura, specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of solar-powered systems.

Kimura applauded the Legislature and governor for taking the step to increase solar power production.

“Due to low energy cost and the high cost of construction, renewable energy has struggled to get traction on the island of O’ahu,” Kimura said. “These special purpose revenue bonds are a critical enabler in bringing clean solar power energy to the residents.”